Coarsely ground corn, traditionally a breakfast cereal. YUMMY!!! Though grits have a rich tradition in the South, they are not only eaten by Southerners. People around the country are finding the great uses and taste of grits. Turner Catledge, former editor of the New York Times, called grits "the first truly American food." Grits date as far back as 1607, when the colonists came ashore at Jamestown, Virginia. Grits are a good source of calcium and iron and have no fat or cholesterol.
Grits are made from the milling of corn kernels. The first step in the process is to clean the kernels; then, the grains are steamed for a short time to loosen the tough outer hull. The grain kernel is split, which removes the hull and germ, leaving the broken endosperm. Heavy steel rollers break up the endosperm into granules, which are separated by a screening process. The large-size granules are the grits; the smaller ones become cornmeal and corn flour. The word grits comes from the Old English. "grytt", for "bran", but the Old English "greot" also meant something ground.

There's nothing better than a bowl of grits for breakfast; it's comfort food and fills you up with warmth. Whether they're the instant, just-add-boiling water version from supermarket shelves or the new fashion in chic cuisine, grits have been a part of American meals for 400 years, and they don't appear to be leaving the table anytime soon.